Radiation: I had 35 radiation treatments, the 1st 25 from the waist to my knee, the last 10 over the site where the tumor was. Fibrosis was and remains an issue as does the impact on my lymph system as I have a great deal of swelling especially when active.

Procedure or Surgery: I had a 4 1/2 surgery, was in the hospital for 5 days (bedridden), then placed in a knee mobilizer for about 4 weeks.
The doctor who initially diagnosed me was very negative, little bed side manner. He told me that I may never walk again, should consider changing jobs as a teacher/coach. Needless to say, he was fired very quickly.
There was a pediatric oncologist who specialized in cancers in the extremities in my hometown at the time who did a great job with my surgery.

Oh No: At the age of 27, I had a lump the size of a large lemon on my right thigh. It was very hard, but there was no pain. It took about 6 weeks to diagnose. There was some discussion about amputating my leg. This was of course a concern. I was (and am) very active - I was a high school football coach at the time, a runner and golfer.

What is that Goodwill number?

The Goodwill number is one way you can tell how helpful each WhatNext member has been in providing information that may help others in the network. Someone with a “0” by their name may mean that they are new to the network, while someone with a higher number means that they may have either posted more information in their journey, asked questions and/or provided answers that others may have “liked.” Your number can change daily based on your contributions and involvement.

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